To allow the pilot to board.
To allow the pilot to board the ship.
You don’t see what choice you have if you want to get to the contest on time. You send a space ladder to the Fantasy, and the pilot crawls across onto your ship. The pilot is wearing a full space suit with a helmet covering the face.
You stand back as the pilot fiddles with your controls. “There you go!” the pilot says in an oddly deep voice, then climbs back across the ladder to the Fantasy and zooms away.
You sit back and let the navigation system take over. You pass planet after planet. You expect to see a lot of traffic heading toward Fara, but strangely you don’t see any. You study the galaxy maps again. Your final destination is Fara, but you discover you are taking the long way around.
Your radio crackles. “Enjoying the view?” says a deep voice on the other end. It’s the strange Fantasy pilot. Then the voice breaks into a familiar high-pitched laugh. Jilli! You realize she was the strange pilot all along. In her brand-new Fantasy Cruiser.
“You sabotaged me!” you cry, but the radio has clicked off.
You fiddle with the controls. “Navigation locked,” an automated voice tells you.
Groaning, you realize you might not make it to Fara in time for the competition. All you can do is wait.
At last you see Fara. As you come closer, sparkling palaces appear. Fara is beautiful! The competition is already under way. You quickly dock the ship and find the nearest royal official. “I’d like to add my name to the competition,” you tell him.
“You’re awfully late,” he says, tapping on his device. “I’ll add your name, but there might not be time for you.”
You see Quin waiting her turn to compete. You watch the others fly the course. They’re not good at all. You can win this for sure. But then again, even Quin could beat these pilots—as long as she doesn’t kill her engine. She just might win if you don’t get a chance to fly.
Jilli’s trick on you has sparked an idea. You could sabotage Quin’s controls. That way, Quin definitely won’t win. But you’re not sure you want to stoop to your stepsisters’ level.